Gasoline Alley

When you see a Bruce Willis starring role and an Edward Drake direction, expect direct to video junk where script is clearly secondary and Willis is getting paid to rent out his name. Drake's films are basically name actors with faded careers that feature 'stars' for a few minutes to gather interest, which includes Luke Wilson who must be really desperate these days. Neither is in the film for more than a couple of minutes nor do they seem to be interested much in this loser.

This is a vehicle for Sawa to play the role of the gruff ex-con who is being framed for a murder he didn't commit. Willis & Wilson are two cops who happen to find a business card and lighter that has Sawa's tattoo shop - Gasoline Alley - monogrammed on it. Without much more than being seein with one of the murder victims, the cop duo with Wilson doing most of the half hearted talking, insist Sawa is the prime suspect and rouse him a little. Sawa then talks and walks his way through a color by numbers script that is laughably done until its conclusion. The problem is that Sawa's character "Jimmy Jane" is put in a situation which really isn't at all that desperate and is clearly the excuse to act like his own tough, private eye.

How stupid and by the numbers is this? A car pulls next to Sawa's at the beginning and somehow, just 6-8 feet away, the shooter misses Sawa smoking in his car. Begin car chase. Sawa's 'investigation' gets to a weird private party where he somehow talks his way in simply by saying he's inviting and that he is a cop, but left his badge "in the car." And then come the friendly confessions by people who just tell him stuff because he's badass cool. In fact, he even asks them "why are you telling me this?" and no good answers come forth.

Oddly enough Sawa actually plays his role pretty well. Wilson is mostly checked out and plays himself, speaks the lines as if he's never read the whole script because knowing the character and story isn't important - only his name is as one of the stars. Willis is totally checked out and is reduced to very short sentences and single words when he speaks, sounding like he's reading off cue cards that he's seen for the first time. The other supporting actors have mostly individual scene parts and range from good but unnecessary to the truly weak.

The conslusion is predictable. Some ofthe vale deserve a higher rating but the film itself i so pitiful that I have a difficult time recommending this latest Drake snoozefest.

Before watching this movie the illness of Bruce Willis made the news. He was ending his career and in all fairness it was about time. Nothing really worked for him anymore so it's better stopping altogether and try to enjoy the rest of his life. In Gasoline Alley he's just a poster filler, a name that attracks viewers, even though it could also mean the opposite now when you see his latest movies that were complete garbage. In this movie he has a really small role, with not much lines, and that's maybe better like that. The story is more about Devon Sawa and he did a pretty decent job. Luke Wilson was also not bad. You can see it's a rather low budget movie but in all fairness I have to say I was entertained. There is a good level of mystery, the story flows good, and the acting is okay. I've seen worse, much worse, so in my humble opinion the ratings are way too low for Gasoline Alley.

Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with aphasia. It's a disorder that affects your speech. So it's not just because he's old or just phoning it in. It's sad how many people are so cruel and judgmental before considering their words first. He's made some incredible films and not so long ago. Red, for instance. He was great in that one. And obviously the man is a legend for Die Hard, alone. Let's give him his props. This movie isn't his fault. I mean, he was hardly in it anyway. I was actually excited to see Devon Sawa. I'm glad I'm seeing him more these days. I hope he gets some more and better projects in the future. He's a good actor. Better than Luke Wilson,, just my opinion. This film could have been better. So that's always a disappointment. But keep in mind, it has a great audience score. You might enjoy it. I'm definitely not mad I watched and it certainly wasn't a waste of time.

I think pretty much anything Bruce Willis does at this point is junk.

The production quality of this movie was so low the opening scene was one of the worst I've seen in a movie in years, no substance, no direction, terrible soundtrack, very little atmosphere. And only a dialed in performance by Willis.

Luke Wilson was the only saving grace and even he couldn't do anything to save this turkey. Save 90 minutes of your life want something good.

No one here seems to know about his cognitive decline and are bashing a man who is suffering from a severe illness, everyone telling him to retire and that he's a horrible actor or his lines are wooden should maybe just look up his name before bashing it. He IS retired and he has had a condition that causes his speech and thought to not function properly the way his brain attempts to convey it. Have some sympathy, I don't care how bad the movie is you shouldn't only point out the one actor who's barely in it and is actually suffering. If it was his fault he wouldn't be in the movie and the other crew should've known better than to use him in his condition.